Lean Roundup #64 – September, 2014

A selection of highlighted blog posts from Lean bloggers from the month of September, 2014.  You can also view the previous monthly Lean Roundups here.

Engaging your Workforce – Productivity Inc. shares few principles from Taiichi Ohno to provide some guidance on engaging your workforce.

Your supply chain is costing you money – Reason #1 Offshoring without getting the full picture – John Westerveld shares 5 cost factors that are often missed when considering manufacturing offshore.

Creating A Continuous Improvement Culture Requires More Than Logic – Gregg Stocker says changing a culture to one where improvement happens on a continual basis requires more than appealing to logic because it tends to run counter to common sense – at least when compared to the way most businesses operate.

The Role of a Lean Leader – Jacklyn Whitaker describes the role of the Lean leader in an organization creating customer value.

Does your organization know how to cultivate value creation? – Scott Gavin discusses how companies can create value within their organizations.

Take Advantage of the Strengths Each Person Brings to Work – John Hunter says it is the goal of managers to set up organizations to take maximum advantage of the strengths of the people in the organization while minimizing the impact of weaknesses.

Reflections on Almost 10 Years in Lean Healthcare – Mark Graban reflects on his past 10 years in Lean Healthcare.

Change is Learning: No Silver Bullets or Quick Fixes - Johanna Rothman explains there are no sliver bullets in making change acceptable rather continuous learning.

Overcome Inertia in your Lean Efforts - Janet Dozier provides 5 considerations for avoiding lapses in progress during your pursuit of perfection.

Cycle Time is to Service as Inventory is to Manufacturing – Pete Abilla explains that cycle time in service industries is synonymous as inventory to manufacturing in terms of waste.

Reprise: How Will You Motivate People, Pascal-san? – Pascal Dennis says you motivate people with Safety, Noble Goals and Simple Decency.

Dr. Deming Video: Managing the Organization as a System – John Hunter explains management success only comes from improving the entire system not sub-processes within the system.

Practical Problem Solving – Proving Cause & Effect – Pascal Dennis describes the importance of cause and effect for problem solving.

I’m Against It! – Bruce Hamilton provides advice from experience on how to deal with Lean nay sayers.

Lead With Respect – Bob Emiliani says leading with respect is not simply a matter of embracing a handful of new behavioral practices.

Managing With Red/Green Charts is Like Driving By Looking at the Rear-View Mirror – Mark Graban explains the pitfalls of managing through metrics instead of managing the system.

The Smart Way to Manage Operations Across Multiple Sites – Tom Bonine shares seven ways you can effectively manage operations across multiple sites.

Missing the power of diversity – Bill Waddell explains the importance that diversification in management team plays in change.

A Lean Management System Starts with Senior Leaders – Steve Leuschel says Lean transformation starts with the leadership.

Lean on Steroids: Why We Should Rely On Physical Measures, Not Financial Ones – Doc Hall explains why Lean relies on physical measurements.

The Biggest Waste of All – Brent Wahba says a bad strategy is the biggest waste of all and what you can do to make a good strategy.